Average boost to personal income, GDP, and employment from extending $600 UI benefit, August 2020 to July 2021

Personal income (millions) GDP Jobs supported
U.S., total $508,619 3.7% 5,083,197
Alabama 4,898 3.2% 43,261
Alaska 1,245 3.4% 12,458
Arizona 5,619 2.3% 55,566
Arkansas 3,060 3.4% 29,984
California 72,959 3.5% 836,142
Colorado 6,597 2.5% 66,898
Connecticut 7,031 3.7% 74,689
Delaware 1,336 2.7% 14,621
District of Columbia 1,821 1.9% 19,611
Florida 27,655 3.8% 244,921
Georgia 19,233 4.7% 186,605
Hawaii 3,390 5.2% 32,751
Idaho 1,394 2.6% 10,049
Illinois 19,119 3.2% 195,149
Indiana 6,328 2.5% 59,443
Iowa 4,422 3.4% 42,580
Kansas 2,613 2.3% 26,089
Kentucky 5,786 4.0% 49,751
Louisiana 8,156 4.6% 81,945
Maine 3,045 6.8% 18,025
Maryland 6,473 2.3% 67,486
Massachusetts 15,243 3.8% 157,162
Michigan 23,719 6.6% 194,520
Minnesota 10,609 4.2% 107,633
Mississippi 4,511 5.7% 42,744
Missouri 6,439 2.9% 59,410
Montana 1,283 3.7% 11,800
Nebraska 1,600 1.9% 15,422
Nevada 8,930 7.5% 84,166
New Hampshire 2,758 4.7% 26,941
New Jersey 14,839 3.5% 147,911
New Mexico 2,731 3.9% 29,012
New York 46,137 4.0% 463,968
North Carolina 14,581 3.7% 142,496
North Dakota 803 2.1% 9,293
Ohio 15,784 3.4% 129,599
Oklahoma 3,902 2.8% 46,018
Oregon 7,213 4.3% 115,599
Pennsylvania 24,454 4.5% 252,642
Rhode Island 2,151 5.1% 20,228
South Carolina 5,986 3.6% 54,484
South Dakota 568 1.6% 5,107
Tennessee 8,357 3.3% 80,269
Texas 33,556 2.7% 364,576
Utah 2,106 1.7% 20,728
Vermont 1,273 5.5% 11,831
Virginia 10,350 2.8% 106,549
Washington 16,529 4.1% 122,224
West Virginia 2,325 4.5% 22,606
Wisconsin 7,277 3.1% 65,635
Wyoming 429 1.6% 4,597

Note: We take the relationship between the unemployment rate and the boost to personal income from the extra $600 payment that held in May of 2020 and assume it continues going forward as benefits are extended past July. We apply a multiplier of 1.5 to the personal income boost provided by enhanced UI. We then divide this boost by overall GDP, and apply the resulting percentage change to the average level of employment in the first quarter of 2020 to get an implied employment boost. The numbers in the chart are the average boost to personal income, GDP, and employment between the third quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of 2021. Some quarters would see even larger effects.

Source: Author’s analysis based on data from the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and data on continuing unemployment insurance claims from the Department of Labor (DOL).

View the underlying data on epi.org.